My name is Hanna Clark, I am 19 years old. I am currently an Early Childhood Education major at the University of Cincinnati. I was born in Chillicothe Ohio where I lived till I was four years old. I then spent the rest of my childhood growing up in various parts of Florida. I returned to Chillicothe to go to high school, where I graduated from Unioto High School in May of 2011. In high school I was involved in various activities: honors societies, volunteering, and many clubs. In many of these clubs and societies I held an officers position; I was president of science club and drama club, vice president of International Thespians Society, and secretary of Tri-M music honors society. I worked with multiple clubs and organizations volunteering for UNICEF, Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat, and Child Evangelicalism Fellowship, as well as in my community at local nursing homes and student tutoring. Throughout high school, my second home was the drama music department. I was a member of show choir and our performing arts productions. If you didn't find me there, I was studying. I graduated seventh in my class with merit and honors. In my limited spare time I ballroom dance; I have competed in local competitions and once in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over the summer I worked with a cleaning service, cleaning various homes in Chillicothe. At the University of Cincinnati, I am a member of the mountaineering club; an organization created for rock climbers, hikers, and any other type of outdoor adventurists, as well as dancing in Hep Cats, the university's swing dance club. I am also volunteering with Girl Scouts at Winton Woods Elementary School, working with third to fifth grade girls.
I want to become a teacher because throughout my years of education my teachers are what inspired me. My teachers showed me the gift of getting an education, and how interesting and exciting it can be. I want to be able to do the same for other children. In today's society teaching is becoming engulfed in standardized testing and jumping hoops. If I still have to jump those hoops as a teacher, I want it to be interesting and exciting for my students. I also feel that teaching will allow me to be myself on so many levels; I can be outgoing, enthusiastic, optimistic, and dramatic.
I have had some experience in using technology, however I wouldn't call myself an expert. I own a PC and am able to use various functions on it such as word, power point, and excel. I also am aware of the vast amenities the internet is able to provide individuals, in and out of education. I own a cell phone and an iPod which I have used for sometime and feel I understand their basic uses vary well. Although, I do feel that I could use a better understanding of different aspects of each type of technology. As well as to look at technology from a teaches perspective and decide how I can apply these technologies into my classroom.
ISTE Standards
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify student's conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
When I first began this class the majority of the lesson plans I created were hands on interaction. This at times limited the learning experience due to what a teacher can acess. However, I have no realized the great benefit of emerging technology into the classroom has, it allows the teacher and the students to have a certain learning experience not possible without technology. It has come evident to me how many different lesson plans and activities there are by our weekly posting to the class Diigo site. Each week every student in the class posted a lesson or a website where a different type of technology was used. Once the class is over there will be hundreds of different sites and actives available to me and to use in my classrooms. These lesson plans must also be a constructivist lesson. Constructivists advocate that learning is more successful when a student is dynamically engaged in the learning progression rather than attempting to receive knowledge passively. In the Constructivist Vs. Objectivist activity on our class Wiki we had to watch videos of different classrooms and decided what type of teaching style they were using. It was enlightening to see the difference each type of teaching makes and how they impact the students. One of my favorite lessons I have posted on Diigo was an activity that teaches the students about a fractured fairy tale this lesson allows the students to be tested on what they already know about fractured fairy tales as well as creating their own. This type of activity engages the students into learning and interacting with the information.
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:
d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.
The tests that we had to create is a great example of how to provide your students with multiple and varied ways of assessment. The test generator on Google Doc Forms allows the creator to put any information into it, which creates a lot of variety within the test itself, it can be multiple choices, true or false, or fill in the blank. This Video on Google Doc Forms explains how to create the test. The test also can be assigned in many different class subjects and by the ways that the students complete the test. The test can be printed out, done online in class, or can be accessed from home for a homework assignment. My test was over rocks and minerals, there were true and false questions along with multiple choice questions. By using Flubaroo, an instant grader, the teacher is able to see what their students received without having to wait to grade the papers themselves. This is a great way that teachers can see instant feedback and apply the data to their learning and teaching. For example, if this was a test that the students must complete when they are home before a certain time that night the teacher will be able to check the scores after the due time and model their teaching for the next day to cover the most missed material on the test.
3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers
d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.
In our final presentation we had to facilitate a technology-based lesson plan. We played the role as the teacher and had to incorporate an emerging technology tool into our lesson. For our lesson, we created a sixth grade classroom studying rocks we used a web interactive from www.e-learningforkids.org. Through this web evaluation sheet, our group found e-learningforkids to be a valid site for our educational purposes. In the interactive Geo the Geologist explains to the students’ three different types of rocks, along with quizzes about the rocks, and finally an activity where the students had to identify 10 of the three types of rocks. Our classroom environment was a one computer classroom, which was extremely eye-opening to see what a lot of teachers must deal with on a daily basses when they try and incorporate technology into their classrooms. To exhibit knowledge and skills of this technology a lot of preparation had to be done before hand. Each group member practiced their part of the interactive before class and also added more information to the interactive as the class went along. Once we got to class we tested all of the technology on the class computer, checking picture quality and the sound. Not only technology was used in this lesson. We also used mixed materials from the library that our group discovered in our CECH Library Visit. We used a rock kit to allow the students hands on experience to use what they learned from the interactive to physically identify rocks. Lesson Plan Presentation Video
4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:
a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.
A teacher’s responsibility is to illustrate and teach students the proper ways to use digital information and technology, but before this class I had no idea of the proper ways. It wasn’t until the lesson on Ethical Uses of Technology that I finally understand the importance of comprehending the legalities of using information obtained through various sources, technology, and copyrights. Teachers face copy right issues on a daily biases when teaching students, if a teacher wants to show a video clip in class or use music along with a slide show things can be a little tricky. A teacher’s best friend is fair use when it comes to copyright infringement. The fair use doctrine was created to allow the use of copyrighted works for criticism and commentary, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and classroom instruction. Fair use allows a teacher to use information for educational purposes, but fair use should not be misused. There are four main focuses of fair trade, one; the purpose of use. If a teacher or student is using the information for educational purposes and is it for non-profit then it is considered fair use. Two, the nature of the copyrighted work; if the information is published, out of print, and is more factual than creative it is much more likely to be considered fair use. Third, the amount of information that the student or teacher uses; the less information used as well as the less significant the information is the less likely it goes against fair use. Finally the effect of information; if the information is directed at a new audience it is fair use because you are not changing the value of the information to the original target. Teachers can also face issues with sharing information via the web. Many websites have copyrights on pictures, information, and videos so teachers and other companies have created websites especially for sharing. “Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that offers flexible copyright licenses for creative works.” Creative Commons allows students and teachers to publish digital resources, which can include images, music audio files, movies, or any other type of medwork, online for others to view and use for their own educational purposes. This is similar to RUBISTAR, a website where teachers can generate rubrics online. Teachers are also able to search for rubrics that apply to their topics; they can use the rubrics or repurpose them to apply to their lessons. In the video P.S. 124 in the Ethical Uses of Technology lesson, examples are given on how to incorporate teaching fair use, copyrights, as well as how to cite information. In one instance, the teacher had groups of students create public announcements about a certain controversial subject. In their videos the students would be using music and images found online. As the students created the announcement the teacher demonstrated the importance of using public sharing places to find pictures and other media to avoid copyright infringement.
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:
a. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
Computer Tools for Teachers has two main internet forums, our class Wiki and the Diigo site. Each of these sites represents a professional community of teachers and our classmates. These sites are open to the public to read, but you must be a member to comment on them. Each of these sites allows us to comment on each other’s lessons and classroom activities. It creates an environment that each of us can help improve others lessons, comment on them, and to share them. On the class Wiki our assignments and e-portfolios are found, for certain assignments we are to comment on the assignments, then read our other classmates responses, and comment on them saying if we agree, disagree, or ways that their ideas can be improved. For example in our Classroom Management activity we were to design a classroom environment specific for a lesson but having limited materials. Once everyone had designed their classroom each student had to comment on two other groups classrooms telling them what we like and dislike about their classroom set up. This is also similar to the Diigo site. Each week my classmates and I post a lesson to the site, a different type of technology is used for each week. After all the lessons are posted we are to comment on three of the lessons after we have viewed them. In these comments you are to write ways to improve the lesson or what you thought would be beneficial to the classroom. Using technology not only to share information but also to communicate with other teachers is something I thought email would only be beneficial for. I was deeply mistaken after discovering how wikis and internet forum sites such as Diigo work.
Final Reflection:
I have learned a lot of knowledge and understanding from this course. At first I assumed this class would be just like all of the other technology classes I have taken through my past education; a boring routine of showing what to do on word, power point, and excel. Although we used power point and excel in some of the activities in was a way in which I had never done so. For example, I had no clue a power point could be turned into an interactive game just by using hyperlinks. We explored some technologies that I had only a limited amount of experience with, such as the iPad and SMARTboard as well as various technologies I had never heard of. The best part about learning how to use the SMARTboards and their assortment of features was that some of the programs that SMARTboard uses are available for free for UC students! Devices and online sources that are exceptional beneficial to teaching methods were also discussed in class. Through the weekly post on the class wiki and diigo site I found so many different resources like readwritethink.org that has a multitude of lessons that use technology aligned with standards. My fellow classmates and I also posted other great lesson plans that use technology; such as devices, blogs, multimedia, games, and emerging technology. The devices lesson plans used things like cell phones to text into a survey. I had no idea that technology could be used in so many different ways to reinforce learning. I feel that this use of technology is a great way for students to use things that they use on a daily basis, like cell phones and computers to add to their education. By incorporating technology into the classroom it creates a constructivist classroom. The students are able to shape their learning in multiple ways taking different aspects from each type of technology. Through the entire class I was surprised to find the multitude of things that teachers can use in the classroom, the advantages of technology in the classroom, and what is available free for teachers to use. I feel that I learned not just about how to use specific technologies, but more how to implement technology into the classroom. I plan to use all that I have learned about technology and put it into practice it in my classroom so that my students can gain all of the information I have and expand their learning.
Thespians Society, and secretary of Tri-M music honors society. I worked with multiple clubs and organizations volunteering for UNICEF, Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat, and Child Evangelicalism Fellowship, as well as in my community at local nursing homes and student tutoring. Throughout high school, my second home was the drama music department. I was a member of show choir and our performing arts productions. If you didn't find me there, I was studying. I graduated seventh in my class with merit and honors. In my limited spare time I ballroom dance; I have competed in local competitions and once in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over the summer I worked with a cleaning service, cleaning various homes in Chillicothe. At the University of Cincinnati, I am a member of the mountaineering club; an organization created for rock climbers, hikers, and any other type of outdoor adventurists, as well as dancing in Hep Cats, the university's swing dance club. I am also volunteering with Girl Scouts at Winton Woods Elementary School, working with third to fifth grade girls.
I want to become a teacher because throughout my years of education my teachers are what inspired me. My teachers showed me the gift of getting an education, and how interesting and exciting it can be. I want to be able to do the same for other children. In today's society teaching is becoming engulfed in standardized testing and jumping hoops. If I still have to jump those hoops as a teacher, I want it to be interesting and exciting for my students. I also feel that teaching will allow me to be myself on so many levels; I can be outgoing, enthusiastic, optimistic, and dramatic.
I have had some experience in using technology, however I wouldn't call myself an expert. I own a PC and am able to use various functions on it such as word, power point, and excel. I also am aware of the vast amenities the internet is able to provide individuals, in and out of education. I own a cell phone and an iPod which I have used for sometime and feel I understand their basic uses vary well. Although, I do feel that I could use a better understanding of different aspects of each type of technology. As well as to look at technology from a teaches perspective and decide how I can apply these technologies into my classroom.
ISTE Standards
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify student's conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
When I first began this class the majority of the lesson plans I created were hands on interaction. This at times limited the learning experience due to what a teacher can acess. However, I have no realized the great benefit of emerging technology into the classroom has, it allows the teacher and the students to have a certain learning experience not possible without technology. It has come evident to me how many different lesson plans and activities there are by our weekly posting to the class Diigo site. Each week every student in the class posted a lesson or a website where a different type of technology was used. Once the class is over there will be hundreds of different sites and actives available to me and to use in my classrooms.
These lesson plans must also be a constructivist lesson. Constructivists advocate that learning is more successful when a student is dynamically engaged in the learning progression rather than attempting to receive knowledge passively. In the Constructivist Vs. Objectivist activity on our class Wiki we had to watch videos of different classrooms and decided what type of teaching style they were using. It was enlightening to see the difference each type of teaching makes and how they impact the students. One of my favorite lessons I have posted on Diigo was an activity that teaches the students about a fractured fairy tale this lesson allows the students to be tested on what they already know about fractured fairy tales as well as creating their own. This type of activity engages the students into learning and interacting with the information.
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:
d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.
The tests that we had to create is a great example of how to provide your students with multiple and varied ways of assessment. The test generator on Google Doc Forms allows the creator to put any information into it, which creates a lot of variety within the test itself, it can be multiple choices, true or false, or fill in the blank. This Video on Google Doc Forms explains how to create the test. The test also can be assigned in many different class subjects and by the ways that the students complete the test. The test can be printed out, done online in class, or can be accessed from home for a homework assignment. My test was over rocks and minerals, there were true and false questions along with multiple choice questions. By using Flubaroo, an instant grader, the teacher is able to see what their students received without having to wait to grade the papers themselves. This is a great way that teachers can see instant feedback and apply the data to their learning and teaching. For example, if this was a test that the students must complete when they are home before a certain time that night the teacher will be able to check the scores after the due time and model their teaching for the next day to cover the most missed material on the test.
3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers
d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.
In our final presentation we had to facilitate a technology-based lesson plan. We played the role as the teacher and had to incorporate an emerging technology tool into our lesson. For our lesson, we created a sixth grade classroom studying rocks we used a web interactive from www.e-learningforkids.org. Through this web evaluation sheet, our group found e-learningforkids to be a valid site for our educational purposes. In the interactive Geo the Geologist explains to the students’ three different types of rocks, along with quizzes about the rocks, and finally an activity where the students had to identify 10 of the three types of rocks. Our classroom environment was a one computer classroom, which was extremely eye-opening to see what a lot of teachers must deal with on a daily basses when they try and incorporate technology into their classrooms. To exhibit knowledge and skills of this technology a lot of preparation had to be done before hand. Each group member practiced their part of the interactive before class and also added more information to the interactive as the class went along. Once we got to class we tested all of the technology on the class computer, checking picture quality and the sound. Not only technology was used in this lesson. We also used mixed materials from the library that our group discovered in our CECH Library Visit. We used a rock kit to allow the students hands on experience to use what they learned from the interactive to physically identify rocks. Lesson Plan Presentation Video
4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:
a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.
A teacher’s responsibility is to illustrate and teach students the proper ways to use digital information and technology, but before this class I had no idea of the proper ways. It wasn’t until the lesson on Ethical Uses of Technology that I finally understand the importance of comprehending the legalities of using information obtained through various sources, technology, and copyrights.
Teachers face copy right issues on a daily biases when teaching students, if a teacher wants to show a video clip in class or use music along with a slide show things can be a little tricky. A teacher’s best friend is fair use when it comes to copyright infringement. The fair use doctrine was created to allow the use of copyrighted works for criticism and commentary, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and classroom instruction. Fair use allows a teacher to use information for educational purposes, but fair use should not be misused. There are four main focuses of fair trade, one; the purpose of use. If a teacher or student is using the information for educational purposes and is it for non-profit then it is considered fair use. Two, the nature of the copyrighted work; if the information is published, out of print, and is more factual than creative it is much more likely to be considered fair use. Third, the amount of information that the student or teacher uses; the less information used as well as the less significant the information is the less likely it goes against fair use. Finally the effect of information; if the information is directed at a new audience it is fair use because you are not changing the value of the information to the original target.
Teachers can also face issues with sharing information via the web. Many websites have copyrights on pictures, information, and videos so teachers and other companies have created websites especially for sharing. “Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that offers flexible copyright licenses for creative works.” Creative Commons allows students and teachers to publish digital resources, which can include images, music audio files, movies, or any other type of medwork, online for others to view and use for their own educational purposes. This is similar to RUBISTAR, a website where teachers can generate rubrics online. Teachers are also able to search for rubrics that apply to their topics; they can use the rubrics or repurpose them to apply to their lessons.
In the video P.S. 124 in the Ethical Uses of Technology lesson, examples are given on how to incorporate teaching fair use, copyrights, as well as how to cite information. In one instance, the teacher had groups of students create public announcements about a certain controversial subject. In their videos the students would be using music and images found online. As the students created the announcement the teacher demonstrated the importance of using public sharing places to find pictures and other media to avoid copyright infringement.
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:
a. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
Computer Tools for Teachers has two main internet forums, our class Wiki and the Diigo site. Each of these sites represents a professional community of teachers and our classmates. These sites are open to the public to read, but you must be a member to comment on them. Each of these sites allows us to comment on each other’s lessons and classroom activities. It creates an environment that each of us can help improve others lessons, comment on them, and to share them.
On the class Wiki our assignments and e-portfolios are found, for certain assignments we are to comment on the assignments, then read our other classmates responses, and comment on them saying if we agree, disagree, or ways that their ideas can be improved. For example in our Classroom Management activity we were to design a classroom environment specific for a lesson but having limited materials. Once everyone had designed their classroom each student had to comment on two other groups classrooms telling them what we like and dislike about their classroom set up. This is also similar to the Diigo site. Each week my classmates and I post a lesson to the site, a different type of technology is used for each week. After all the lessons are posted we are to comment on three of the lessons after we have viewed them. In these comments you are to write ways to improve the lesson or what you thought would be beneficial to the classroom. Using technology not only to share information but also to communicate with other teachers is something I thought email would only be beneficial for. I was deeply mistaken after discovering how wikis and internet forum sites such as Diigo work.
Final Reflection:
I have learned a lot of knowledge and understanding from this course. At first I assumed this class would be just like all of the other technology classes I have taken through my past education; a boring routine of showing what to do on word, power point, and excel. Although we used power point and excel in some of the activities in was a way in which I had never done so. For example, I had no clue a power point could be turned into an interactive game just by using hyperlinks.
We explored some technologies that I had only a limited amount of experience with, such as the iPad and SMARTboard as well as various technologies I had never heard of. The best part about learning how to use the SMARTboards and their assortment of features was that some of the programs that SMARTboard uses are available for free for UC students! Devices and online sources that are exceptional beneficial to teaching methods were also discussed in class.
Through the weekly post on the class wiki and diigo site I found so many different resources like readwritethink.org that has a multitude of lessons that use technology aligned with standards. My fellow classmates and I also posted other great lesson plans that use technology; such as devices, blogs, multimedia, games, and emerging technology. The devices lesson plans used things like cell phones to text into a survey. I had no idea that technology could be used in so many different ways to reinforce learning.
I feel that this use of technology is a great way for students to use things that they use on a daily basis, like cell phones and computers to add to their education. By incorporating technology into the classroom it creates a constructivist classroom. The students are able to shape their learning in multiple ways taking different aspects from each type of technology.
Through the entire class I was surprised to find the multitude of things that teachers can use in the classroom, the advantages of technology in the classroom, and what is available free for teachers to use. I feel that I learned not just about how to use specific technologies, but more how to implement technology into the classroom. I plan to use all that I have learned about technology and put it into practice it in my classroom so that my students can gain all of the information I have and expand their learning.